Seeker: Demon Killers [Fantasy/Action | Complete]

Chapter 65: Seal and Deal

Markl's pupils dilated when he read through her intent. His right hand glowed. Tora narrowed her eyes. Whatever magic he had in mind, it wouldn't stop her momentum.

His open-palmed left hand slammed into the centre of her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Everything slowed. Tora's chest was aflame. She couldn't breathe. All the energy drained from her arms. The handle of her weapon slipped from her hands.

The hammer crashed into his right shoulder like a two-ton truck, with a crack that snapped through the air. Damn, not enough damage; he'd heal that.

She flew backwards. Things sped up again. Her feet landed first. Triumph flooded her. She'd be back in the fray--

Her legs collapsed beneath. The force carried her up and over. The world tumbled. Her head cracked against a hard surface and she slid onto her back, dazed, stars flashing all around. Soft thuds sounded as the books -- she must have hit a bookshelf -- rained around her. Her ears rang. She pushed herself up; her legs wobbled, alien in sensation, and she crashed down again.

"The heck?!" she yelled, her face against the dusty ground. Her heart beat irregularly; her head spun. Her limbs refused to obey her. With arms that moved like thick syrup, she managed to prop herself up on her elbows. Her chest throbbed. Glancing down, she sucked in a breath.

"What the hell's crap is this?" she demanded, her cheeks flushing.

A crimson symbol carved itself, painless, onto the centre of her chest. A spiral sat above her breast bone, and turned into a spike pointing down towards her belly button. It gleamed like fresh blood on her dark leathery skin. The symbol was a mirror opposite to that tattoo Markl had on his right arm. She groaned. More Sentinel spells.

"You don't play fair, you sack of--"

"Nobody plays fair in war, Tora," said Markl, panting as he picked himself up. His weapons, including the Veil Cutter, littered the floor from his fal. He winced; it seemed Tora's hammer had done some damage, at least. She watched, smug. And he wasn't healing.

But neither was she getting up.

Whispering expletives, Tora forced her disabled body into a sitting position. It was like she'd ran fifty marathons, but without the muscle aches. Her body just refused to obey. Had he somehow severed every nerve in her body?

"You're a stubborn girl." He did not make it sound remotely complimentary. Sentinel armour appeared over his body like the way her Shifter skin melted over her human ones when she turned. Except she knew they offered little genuine protection. He picked up a long dagger from the ground. His right arm hung limply.

"And you're a cheating maggot." She spat on the ground. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"I've taken away your biggest weapon."

"And that is...?"

"Your fists. I told you once that you'll regret investing so much into your physicality and neglecting special powers... Now your comeuppance has come."

Tora called him words that would make criminals' toes curl. What kind of nerd used the word 'comeuppance' anyway? She threw herself up, willing her legs to obey her. They gave the faintest of twitches but stayed dead, just like that time when she'd done too many squats. Her back strained just keeping her torso upright. Even her eyelids were heavy. Was this what it felt like to have a stroke or neck injury?

Markl marched towards her with pained, but steady steps, his dagger clutched at his side.

"Let's get this over with. We've played out long enough."